Reverse The Curse

The NBA will be on center stage tonight as some of basketball's biggest stars gather at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to compete in the 60th edition of the All-Star Game. Many of the usual suspects will take part in this years mid-season exhibition game. Kobe, LeBron, Chris Paul,and Dwight Howard will take to the court, as well as New York Knicks superstar Amar'e Stoudemire and his future teammate(hopefully) Carmelo Anthony. I'll revisit Melo's situation a bit later.

There will be a number of new-comers headed to L.A. hoping to make a name for themselves as well. The Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Love will make his debut in this years festivities, in addition to SportsCenter dunking machine Blake Griffin of the hometown Clippers. Also joining these future stars this weekend were a group of 1st and 2nd year players that competed in the Rookie Challenge game which took place on Friday. I'd have to say this is my favorite part of the entire weekend. The rookies get to take on the sophomore all-stars in a battle of the young guns. The ironic part about the Junior All-Star game is that most of the participants would still be in college if they hadn't left school early for the riches and celebrity that comes along with the pro game. I can't fault them for chasing the cash, but it just makes you wonder what the NCAA Tournament would look like had these guys stayed in college. Oh well.

Of course All-Star Weekend wouldn't be complete without the 3 Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest. James Jones of the hated Miami Heat took home the 3 point crown, which was hard to for me to comprehend. I was under the impression that Miami only had 3 players on their roster. I thought that only LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh were playing on this year's Heat squad? I mean that's all they need to win the championship that the media already crowned them with when that rat fink, LeBron James, took his talents to South Beach last Summer, right?

Allow me to visit this year's version of the Slam Dunk Contest if you will. The most impressive jam of the night came from Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He took flight from the free throw line, ala Michael Jordan, and sent one home. The only difference between his dunk and MJ's was that Ibaka took off behind the foul line. Jordan's foot actually went over the line on his posterizing dunk. But I guess I'm splitting hairs on that one.

For me it seemed like this years winner, Blake Griffin, already had his name engraved on the trophy before the contest started. Look, I get it. He is a freak of nature. His athletic ability doesn't come around that often, but could I please go one day without seeing an ESPN montage of his dunks? They've been promoting the Dunk Contest for weeks on SportsCenter, practically begging for Griffin to win. What sucked about this year's contest was how the winner was determined. They had a panel of judges that rated the preliminary round of dunks to pick the two finalists. The winner was crowned by the most votes via text messaging. Who the hell was going to vote for the other finalist, JeVale McGee of the Washington Wizards, over Blake Griffin. I actually watch the NBA on a regular basis so I'm at least familiar with McGee. But I can't say that the rest of the country has any clue as to who he is, and it was reflected in the final tally. I was actually surprised to see that Griffin only received two thirds of the votes. So he jumped over a friggin' car to slam the ball home. Remember when Dominique Wilkins and Dr. J used to dunk without props? I know its just for entertainment, but enough already.

That brings me to the worst part of All-Star Weekend. The Celebrity All-Star Game which took place on Friday night. Or should I call it the Justin Bieber Showcase. This "game" featured a bunch of actors, entertainers, and former NBA legends making a mockery of the game. I know this event really had nothing to do with the sport of basketball. It's the league's attempt at drawing in fans that wouldn't normally tune in to watch their product. I can live with that. But could someone please just kick the ever living shit out of Justin Bieber? Just once, someone please bitch slap him until he becomes a pile of sobbing rubble. Then shave off that friggin' mop of hair on his head. I'm not disputing that I'm jealous that he has all of that hair, and I'm clinging to what's left on the top of my dome. But enough already. Someone has got to have some dirt on that little douche-bag that would send his career up in flames. If I hear the term Bieber Fever one more time I'm going to puke!

Enough about that ass-napkin. Let me get back to Carmelo Anthony. Could my beloved Knicks please get this trade done already? For over two years I watched as New York made no attempt to win because they were saving money to sign LeBron James in this past off season. The front office promised to return the Knicks to past glory and contend for the NBA Title again. We all know how that guarantee worked out. Don't get me wrong, Amar'e Stoudemire has been a very good move for the Knicks, but it just seemed like a consolation prize when James opted to join the Miami Heat.

Now Carmelo Anthony has refused to sign a 3 year, $65 million dollar deal to remain in Denver. Either he's the stupidest man in America, or he really wants to return to the East Coast where he was born. For god's sake New York, make the trade! In an ideal world Melo would just finish the year out in Denver and sign with the Knicks in the off season. That way they wouldn't have to give up any players to get him, but if they let him slip away to the New Jersey Nets or LA Lakers, the Knicks may never recover.

Carmelo Anthony coming to New York would practically guarantee that my fellow long suffering Knicks fans and I would return to the promised land. With the former Syracuse Orange legend on the roster my good friend, and Shaman, Dave Herring has promised that he would lift the curse which he placed on the Knicks in 1985 when they drafted Patrick Ewing from the hated Georgetown Hoyas. Although I had not yet met Dave at that time, I could never have imagined what a powerful man he would become. Although the Knicks selection of SU star Andy Rautins last Summer was a step in the right direction with regards to Dave reversing the hex, from his mouth to my ears he promised that he would officially lift the curse if New York lands Melo. In fact, he has already been in touch with the gods and they too are receptive to the Knicks winning their 1st title since 1973.

The NBA is definitely heading in the right direction in my humble opinion. Overall, the league is coming close to returning to the height of popularity which it hasn't seen since the 1980's. I hope you all turn the dial to TNT at 8pm tonight to watch Carmelo and company dazzle us with their skills. And Dave, I've got you on speed dial, ready to make that call when Melo becomes a Knick.